The Crime Report: Top Ten Criminal Justice Stories

The Crime Report Chooses the Top Ten Criminal Justice Stories

The Crime Report is an informative web site. This is some fine writing and some excellent choices. Please go, visit the web site and read these ten stories in full.

James Pilant

The Ten Most Significant Criminal Justice Stories of 2012

From Number One –

Some of the most notable efforts include the closure of juvenile training schools and other youth detention facilities around the country, as authorities began a fundamental re-think of how they deal with juvenile offenders.

“The large congregate juvenile facility is a dinosaur,” Krisberg commented in a note to us, “as states increasingly move towards home-based care and the use of smaller facilities closer to home.”

Not coincidentally, “Close to Home” was the name of a landmark program launched by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2012, with bipartisan support, to create facilities for young offenders in their own communities rather than shipping them upstate—an innovative program which by its own merits would otherwise have earned special mention in the Top Ten.

Adding to the impact of the Court ruling and state actions, efforts to end such egregious practices as solitary confinement for young offenders and placement of youth in adult detention took a huge step forward during the year.

The Ten Most Significant Criminal Justice Stories of 2012

From Number Two –

The nation’s so-called War on Drugs took a significant turn in 2012, when Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana use. Voters’ decisive approval of Colorado’s Amendment 64 and Washington’s Initiative 502 will permit those 21 years of age and older to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana.

Whatever your feelings on drugs, it’s hard to overlook the votes’ significance—as a sign of a new pragmatic approach towards grappling with the nation’s addictions. “It directly challenges the ‘reefer madness of the last century; and most importantly eliminates (in these two states) a widely used means of police control that’s resulted in criminal records for tens of millions of Americans,” comments TCR Los Angeles bureau chief Joe Domanick.

Any shift towards legalization or even modification of federal policies will also have international ramifications—particularly in Latin America, where governments have keenly felt the murderous impact of drug cartels serving the U.S. market.

From around the web –

From the web site, Crime Story:

Imagine being a 14 year-old boy who takes a classmate on a bike ride one spring evening. In the days to follow, the classmate is found dead and you stand accused of rape and murder. There’s no direct physical evidence tying you to the crime, but that doesn’t matter. In a lightning fast trial you are convicted and sentenced to death. As far as the press and public are concerned, you are guilty and deserve to die. Such was the fate of Steven Truscott, living with his family on an army base in small-town Ontario in 1959. Read the shocking true story of a terrible case of injustice and the decades long fight to clear Truscott’s name.

From the web site, True Crime Stories:

The FBI has created a list of different characteristics to identify serial killers. In order to be classified a serial killer, murderers must have 15 out of 21 of the characteristics; they must be methodical with their killings, killing three or more people over a period of time, spanning at least 30 days. It’s fascinating to peek into the minds of serial killers, who are the most abhorrent examples of human kind.

From the web site, Movies Based on Crime Stories: (Yes, I am well aware that this is not about Hollywood movies but Bollywood movies. The facts are simple. Twenty years ago, American access to Bollywood movies was very tiny. Today, hundreds are available on You-Tube and commercial sites like NetFlix. Bollywood is a huge industry with offerings both delightful and dramatic. It’s time to get familiar with a larger world. JP)

Salman Khan’s Wanted Dead And Alive opened with very good response at Box Office. But received average talk from audience and poor reviews from most of the critics. By the end of the week movie went to super hit range. Finally managed to satisifie Salman Khan fans a lot

After 2 years Salman Khan has bagged a super hit. This is an action movie with some good comedy and romantic scenes. story revolves around Radhe ( Salman Khan) a goon joins with a mafia gang and kills opponent gang.

From the web site, LaeLand:

Crime stories often restore order to chaos, whether a police procedural or a gang story. Readers may or may not be aware that this is something they also want from a book; that is not just a story, but to know that even though the world is crazy, things will be ok, there is hope.

There are also many levels to crime fiction. When one looks deeper into a story, there is often a grain of truth to them, a subliminal message, that perhaps even the writer is not fully aware of and the full impact that their story can have. Sometimes this can be soul searching, or even a message about the society that we live in.